Tag Archives: Post Office

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Taxes Got You Down? Here's All the Free Stuff You Can Get on April 15

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By Matt Brownell

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Cinnabon

For a lot of people, Tax Day isn’t a happy day. Maybe you found out you owe a lot of money to the IRS; maybe you just spent way too long waiting in line at the post office. The good news is that several companies go out of their way to offer great deals and freebies on April 15 to ease the sting of dealing with the IRS. Here are a few:

Freebie Finding Mom flags a few junk-food freebies. Cinnabon is bringing back its popular “Tax Day Bites” promotion, where it offers two free Cinnabon Bites from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Meanwhile, Great American Cookies is offering free birthday cake cookies all day, dubbing them “Cookie Currency Tax Rebates.” And Arby’s is offering free value-size orders of curly fries or small potato cakes all day on April 15 — just print out this coupon.

Sponsored Linksadsonar_placementId=1505951;adsonar_pid=1990767;adsonar_ps=-1;adsonar_zw=242;adsonar_zh=252;adsonar_jv=’ads.tw.adsonar.com’;

Want to hit the movies after you finish your ordeal at the Post Office? AMC is offering a free small popcorn with this coupon Unlike many of these freebies, this one is actually valid for all of “tax weekend” — it can be used from April 12 through 15. You can print it out or present it on a smartphone.

BeFrugal.com passes along a freebies that’s truly relevant to Tax Day: Up to 5 pounds of free shredding at Office Depot with a coupon. The deal is good through April 16 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. (Just be careful not to shred any important documents, as you’ll need to have them handy in case you get audited.) Another helpful coupon from Office Depot lets you get a free black-and-white copy of your tax return, up to 25 pages; the coupon is good through May 1.

Matt Brownell is the consumer and retail reporter for DailyFinance. You can reach him at Matt.Brownell@teamaol.com, and follow him on Twitter at @Brownellorama.

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From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/on/tax-day-freebies/

News, Politics, Government

Suspicious package containing explosive material sent to Arizona Sheriff Arpaio

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Authorities are investigating an explosive device addressed to Arizona’s Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the self-proclaimed “toughest sheriff in America” known for his tough treatment of jail inmates and cracking down on illegal immigrants.

The device intercepted in Flagstaff late Thursday was in a package addressed to Arpaio at his downtown Phoenix office, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

It appeared suspicious, so it was X-rayed and the device was detected. A bomb squad team neutralized the explosive, the statement said.

Arpaio’s chief deputy, Jerry Sheridan, told The Arizona Republic that investigators believe the package was picked up on Thursday at a rural Post Office box. Flagstaff is about 140 miles north of Phoenix.

Following the killing of a West Virginia sheriff last week, Arpaio said elected law enforcement officials across the nation seem to be targeted.

A national hero to conservatives on immigration issues, Arpaio himself has been the target of numerous threats. That prompted the need for a security detail for the lawman also known for dressing jail inmates in pink underwear and making them sleep in tents in the heat of the Arizona desert.

A campaign to recall Arpaio began just weeks after he started his sixth term in January.

Critics contend Arpaio should be ousted because his office failed to adequately investigate more than 400 sex-crimes cases, allegedly racially profiled Latinos in its trademark immigration patrols and has cost the county $25 million in legal settlements over treatment in county jails.

Arpaio has denied that his deputies racially profiled Latinos in traffic patrols targeting illegal immigration. His office has moved to clear up the sex-crime cases and moved to prevent the problem from happening again, he said.

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/qWWJM8ARDNg/

Articles of Interest

Effective Youth Unemployment Is 16.2%

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By David Pasch

Washington, DC – (4/5/13) – Generation Opportunity, a national, non-partisan organization advocating for Millennials ages 18-29, is announcing its Millennial Jobs Report for March 2013. The data is non-seasonally adjusted (NSA) and is specific to 18-29 year olds:

  • The youth unemployment rate for 18-29 year olds specifically for March 2013 is 11.7 percent (NSA).
  • The youth unemployment rate for 18-29 year old African-Americans for March 2013 is 20.1 percent (NSA); the youth unemployment rate for 18-29 year old Hispanics for March 2013 is 12.6 percent (NSA); and the youth unemployment rate for 18–29 year old women for March 2013 is 10 percent (NSA).
  • The declining labor force participation rate has created an additional 1.7 million young adults that are not counted as “unemployed” by the U.S. Department of Labor because they are not in the labor force, meaning that those young people have given up looking for work due to the lack of jobs.
  • If the labor force participation rate were factored into the 18-29 youth unemployment calculation, the actual 18-29-unemployment rate would rise to 16.2 percent (NSA).

Evan Feinberg, President of Generation Opportunity and one of the first Millennials to run for Congress, issued the following statement:

March was another lost month for my generation. Young people are finding fewer opportunities and are being saddled with the costs of our country’s unsustainable deficits.

Some people will try to blame the laughably small cuts to government spending known as the sequester – but aside from the Post Office, government actually added 9,000 jobs last month.

After years of deficit spending and government meddling in the economy, 1 in 6 of us don’t have a job. Half of us are doing no better than a part-time job. All the while, we are all stuck with a bill that keeps getting bigger. It’s like we’re the last one to leave the bar and everybody else ran out without paying their tab.

Follow us on Twitter: @GenOpportunity

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Western Journalism

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

These Stocks Can Transport Your Portfolio

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By Selena Maranjian, The Motley Fool

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Exchange-traded funds offer a convenient way to invest in sectors or niches that interest you. If you’d like to add some transportation stocks to your portfolio, the iShares Dow Jones Transportation Average ETF could save you a lot of trouble. Instead of trying to figure out which companies will perform best, you can use this ETF to invest in lots of them simultaneously.

The basics
ETFs often sport lower expense ratios than their mutual fund cousins. The iShares ETF‘s expense ratio — its annual fee — is a relatively low 0.47%.

This ETF has performed well, beating the world market over the past three and five years. As with most investments, of course, we can’t expect outstanding performances in every quarter or year. Investors with conviction need to wait for their holdings to deliver.

Why transportation?
Transportation is something of a staple, as we’ll always need to move ourselves and other things here and there. Better still, our global economies are starting to pick up, which means that companies will be shipping more products, boosting the industry.

More than a handful of transportation companies had strong performances over the past year. Norfolk Southern surged 20%, recently hitting a 52-week high. It yields 2.6%, and has hiked its payout by an annual average of more than 11% over the past five years. Like other railroads, it’s been hit by lower coal volumes, as low natural gas prices have led to shrinking coal demand. It’s positioning itself for the future, though, investing heavily in capital projects.

CSX , another railroad company, rolled ahead 17%. It, too, has been whacked by weakness in coal, but coal is likely to remain in demand internationally, and coal exports have been increasing. CSX is geographically well positioned to benefit from such exports, with its access to Eastern and Gulf Coast ports. The stock recently yielded 2.3%, and it has been aggressively upping its payout.

United Parcel Service delivered a 9% gain and yields 2.9%. The delivery giant has seen its performance falter, in part due to massive pension-related write-offs. It also recently agreed to fork over a $40 million settlement in relation to an investigation into packages it delivered for illegal online pharmacies. (The packages it delivers for legitimate online businesses, such as Amazon.com and eBay, though, have contributed significantly to its growth.) Meanwhile, the company has committed to hiring 25,000 veterans, and it stands to benefit if Congress continues hobbling the Post Office.

Other companies didn’t do as well last year, but could see their fortunes change in the coming years. Expeditors International shed 22%, serving transportation companies with its logistics services. In its fourth-quarter earnings report, the company posted disappointing results due to a weak air freight market. Bulls admire its expertise, organic growth, and global reach, but bears are irked by its …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Here's What This $7 Billion Hedge Fund Company Has Been Buying

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By Selena Maranjian, The Motley Fool

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Every quarter, many money managers have to disclose what they’ve bought and sold, via “13F” filings. Their latest moves can shine a bright light on smart stock picks.

Today let’s look at Maverick Capital, founded by Lee Ainslie and Sam Wyly in 1993. Avoiding bonds, commodities, currencies, and options, it sticks with stocks, holding both long and short positions. It employs fundamental analysis, and examines management closely.

The company’s reportable stock portfolio totaled $6.8 billion in value as of December 31, 2012.

Interesting developments
So what does Maverick Capital‘s latest quarterly 13F filing tell us? Here are a few interesting details:

The biggest new holdings are EMC and Crown Castle International. Other new holdings of interest include United Parcel Service . The delivery giant has seen its performance stutter a bit due to massive pension-related write-offs, but its volume has been growing, it has been raising its rates, and it recently boosted its dividend by 9%. (It now yields 2.9%. The company has committed to hiring 25,000 veterans, and it stands to benefit if Congress continues gutting the Post Office.

Among holdings in which Maverick Capital increased its stake was Citrix Systems . The company is impressing some with its virtualization business, adding on mobile capabilities through its acquisition of Zenprise, and growing its recurring licensing revenue. The company’s last earnings report was solid, but management tempered some expectations for 2013.

Maverick Capital reduced its stake in lots of companies, including Skyworks Solutions , which is a semiconductor company supplying, among other things, radio chips for iDevices. Its focus extends beyond smartphones, though, as it also supplies the car market and medical devices. Recent weakness in Apple has hurt Skyworks, but its long-term prospects remain strong, in part due to a strong balance sheet and robust profit margins.

Finally, Maverick Capital‘s biggest closed positions included Citigroup and Endo Health Solutions. Other closed positions of interest include SuperValu and Renren . SuperValu is in the tough supermarket business, where profit margins are thin, and competition tight. The company has drawn a $3.3 billion bid from a private-equity firm, in a deal where SuperValu gives up its big-name supermarkets, and ends up focusing more on its wholesale business and remaining chains, such as Save-A-Lot. The company still has a lot of debt, but with a forward P/E ratio of three, there’s a lot of potential, too.

Chinese social networking specialist Renren is often compared to Facebook, but there are some major differences – such as the fact that Renren is not yet profitable or free-cash-flow positive. Its recent quarterly earnings report was strong, with revenue up 49%, and a smaller-than-expected net loss, but management lowered near-term expectations, too. The company’s online gaming business has been doing particularly well, and management expects it to play a role in monetizing mobile operations.

We should never blindly copy any investor’s moves, no matter how talented the investor. But it can be useful to keep …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

News, Politics, Government

Like It or Not, the US Postal Service Isn't Going Away Anytime Soon

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By Tarun Wadhwa, Contributor

A few blocks away from my apartment, there’s a store that Yelp users describe as “dirty,” “disgusting,” “horrible,” and “saturated with bitterness.”  Yet they are still in business, and probably will be for a long time to come.  What type of establishment could have their customers routinely express such deep rooted frustration, and still get away with it?  The local Post Office, of course. At some point, we have all probably thought about doing something like what Michael Richards‘ character Kramer tried to do on Seinfeld – get out of the system, permanently. In a famous exchange, when postal employee Newman asks him what he will do about his bills, cards, and letters, Kramer points out that he can use “e-mail, telephones, fax machines, FedEx, Telex, telegrams, and holograms.” And he’s right. For your everyday needs, there are now a wide variety of ways to communicate and conduct transactions. Few people actually want the bulk of the items that come through their mailbox these days. But as despised and problematic as it is, the Postal Service is one of the most important institutions in this country – it is essential to a functioning economy, and it is, thankfully, not going anywhere, any time soon. There have been plenty of loud declarations that Postal Service has failed and will be out of business shortly.  But these arguments usually reveal how little people understand about what the Postal Service actually does – and how little they appreciate this institution’s amazing reach and scale.  Handling over 160 billion pieces of mail in a year (40 percent of the world’s mail), the Postal Service provides universal coverage for accessing their services to the entire country for low, standardized prices.  They make regular deliveries to remote islands and secluded areas that would not be worth the trouble for a private business.  In rural and low-income regions where broadband isn’t commonly available, they provide a much-needed lifeline for communication. Most recently, Outbox, a start-up from Austin, Texas, has reignited the debate over the future of mail.  Since their launch in San Francisco earlier this month, they have attracted a lot of excitement with their simple plan to allow people to have their physical mail picked up, scanned, and digitized for a five dollars a month.  In reality, this may not be the only cost; they are reportedly exploring ways to bring the sketchy practices of targeted e-mail advertising to the physical world.  Furthermore, their marketing reveals a very immature understanding of why the Postal Service — which they strangely refer to as “America’s oldest social network” — cannot simply be “recreated” by a few guys driving around in a Prius. A suggestion that often comes up is to just dismantle the Postal Service and have everyone switch to using private services like FedEx, UPS, and DHL.  The people making these arguments are probably unaware that these companies are deeply reliant on the Postal Service for many of their everyday functions – comparatively, they do not come close to …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Most of Us Want the Post Office to Kill Saturday Delivery? Really?

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By Rich Smith, The Motley Fool

Postman

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According to U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe, 7 out of every 10 Americans polled say they like the idea of the U.S. Postal Service eliminating Saturday mail delivery in order to cut $2 billion a year off of the Post Office‘s budget.

And so … that’s just what he’s going to do.

Donahoe announced on Wednesday that rather than wait for Congress to propose a solution to the USPS‘s fiscal problems, he’s going to order the service to halt Saturday letter deliveries beginning this August….

Most of Us Want the Post Office to Kill Saturday Delivery? Really? originally appeared on DailyFinance.com on 2013-02-08T06:00:00Z.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Articles of Interest

Oprah And Lance; Why Should We Care?

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By Fred Weinberg

Lance Oprah SC Oprah And Lance; Why Should We Care?

Like many folks, I watched Lance Armstrong “confess” to Oprah. For about 20 minutes. It was all the self-serving crapola from both Armstrong and Oprah I could take.

Big deal.

Some months ago, I wrote that Armstrong was being persecuted by the United States Government with $10 million dollars a year of our money.

I was right then, and I’m right now.

Do I care a whit that he used some fancy concoctions to help his endurance?

No.

I also don’t care if Roger Clemons, Mark McGuire, or Sammy Sosa used steroids or if Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb were belligerent drunks. And I still think that Pete Rose should be in the Hall of Fame.

Frankly, we are way too concerned with what an athlete is willing to do to win.  To put it in perspective, remember that the average life span of an NFL linebacker is 57 years, and nobody complains about that.

And, don’t you find it just a little bit upsetting that the arbiters of what is right and wrong are largely people who never played the game?  Take the Hall of Fame election for baseball.  The election is from members of the Baseball Writer’s Association.  These are largely people who drink their lunch, mostly see life from the left lane, and, again, never played the game.

I saw Jim Gray on the Fox News Channel pontificating about a college football player who said that he was duped into thinking he had an internet girlfriend who died.  Now why this is a story is beyond my comprehension since nobody suffered any damages, but let’s get back to Jim Gray.

This was the clown who in game two of the 1999 World Series had the following colloquy with Pete Rose after Rose was named to the Major League Baseball All Century team, an honor which most people with more than 3,000 hits get.

Jim Gray: Pete, let me ask you now. It seems as though there is an opening, the American public is very forgiving. Are you willing to show contrition, admit that you bet on baseball and make some sort of apology to that effect?

Pete Rose: Not at all, Jim. I’m not going to admit to something that didn’t happen. I know you’re getting tired of hearing me say that. But I appreciate the ovation. I appreciate the American fans voting me on the All-Century Team. I’m just a small part of a big deal tonight.

Gray: With the overwhelming evidence in that report, why not make that step. . .

There’s an example of the kind of ‘expert’ who is passing judgment on people who actually played the game. (By the way, Gray also thinks that Bob Costas’ anti gun rant was acceptable, to put him in perspective.)

I’m not a big fan of professional cycling.  I could care less if someone needs an edge to win a race of more than 2,000 miles.  Unless Armstrong had an engine on that bike, my viewpoint is that he won the Tour De France seven times in a row; and nothing, including $10 million a year of our tax dollars going to a private doping police force, is going to change that.

As far as his “defrauding” the Post Office because of their sponsorship, what a load of crap.

His team won; that’s what sponsors pay for in professional sports, end of story.  Except that I don’t believe that any government entity should be spending advertising money on professional sports or subsidizing stadiums.  That includes the NFL, Major League Baseball, and the National Guard’s sponsorship of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s number 88 Sprint Cup car.

The same media that is having a slobbering love affair with our President is way too focused on everything but the game.

As big an animal lover as I am (and a Pit Bull owner at that), I didn’t think it was the NFL’s job to ban Michael Vick back when he got caught running a dog fighting ring.  I think it is the prosecutor’s job to put him in prison so he couldn’t play football.

I didn’t think the NCAA had any business sanctioning Penn State in the very sick Jerry Sandusky affair.  That is the job of the Governor, the courts, and the so-called adult supervision.

I never said Lance Armstrong wasn’t a jerk.  Or that Pete Rose is a prince.

But just as I don’t hold Barbara Streisand’s ludicrous political viewpoints against her skills as a singer, I refuse to judge Lance Armstrong’s athletic career (or Roger Clemons’ or Barry Bonds’) by what he may have ingested before he played the game.

And, frankly, as a sports fan (and recovering sportswriter), I think that the only votes for halls of fame should come from the same fans who make and break the careers of the players.

Now, can we get back to talking about real news?

Photo credit: lwpkommunikacio (Creative Commons)

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Western Journalism

Articles of Interest

Goodbye Post Office, Hello Postal Unions

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By G. Michael Fielding

labor unions SC Goodbye Post Office, Hello Postal Unions

If there is one thing conservatives understand, it is that Unions are never satisfied until they get what they want. And when they don’t succeed in their agreement terms with their employers, they will cry threats at everything and anyone except what is really at fault. Recently, the National Association of Letter Carriers Union (NALC) released its new labor contract to its members and posted on its National Bargaining website. One of the statements NALC President Fredric Rolando made was: “This agreement rewards city carriers for these contributions and sets the stage for a major comeback for the Postal Service, provided that Congress does its part to enact real reforms that will allow us to serve the American people and the U.S. economy for decades to come.” Congress does its part to enact real reforms? Could these reforms have anything to do with raising taxes on the American people?

Could it be that the New Agreement included lower wage scales for new career employees as well as the increase of health insurance premiums coupled with no employer matching shares with regard to the Flexible Spending Accounts? Considering the state of the Postal Service and the fact that this once great American institution is now practically broke, why in the world would the NALC want to continue giving support to an administration that keeps stabbing them in the back? Congress certainly is to blame for a lot of things; but rather than focusing on blaming Congressional leaders, the NALC (as well as Unions in general) should take a hard look at the real encompassing cause of the problems with the Postal Service. Surely, the Congress is made primarily of Republicans; but even those Republicans in Congress have no backbone and continuously capitulate to President Obama’s demands.

When FDR pushed forward the Wagner Act, which was expected to be overturned by the Supreme Court due to its unconstitutionality, it was upheld by a 5-4 vote in April of 1937. The Act was supposed to require the employers to bargain collectively with unions. Unfair labor practices were also forbidden from employers such as keeping employees from unionizing. According to Mallory Factor in his book ShadowBosses, “an unshakable alliance was formed between unions and Democrats” since the passage of the Act. The more members Unions acquire and the more money they can suck out of their members, the more money and support goes into the Liberal establishment in order to get them elected (hence passing legislation in support of these Unions.)

The interesting thing to note is that employees at the Postal Service are now going to pay more in HealthCare premiums due to heavy taxation. So while Union Members may talk about how the Union is there to save their jobs, little does the Mailman know the Postal Service will continue to grow weaker over time. In response to the NALC President’s statement, how can the Postal Service make any viable comeback when the economy itself is dwindling from the pressures of President Obama’s heavy taxation? If the NALC is so concerned for the city carriers and for the state of the Post Office, then why show such support for politicians that are now causing Postal employees to pay more in taxes for their Health insurance? Maybe the Union is only in it for the Union. Goodbye, Post Office.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Western Journalism